CHANDIGARH — The Punjab & Haryana High Court has affirmed the conviction of an 80-year-old clinic owner for violating the PCPNDT Act, 1994, ruling that missing signatures on mandatory Form ‘F’ records cannot be dismissed as minor technicalities. The court rejected pleas for leniency based on age, emphasizing that such lapses are serious offenses in the context of preventing female foeticide.
The case stemmed from a regulatory raid by state health authorities on a clinic in Barnala, Punjab. Investigators found multiple Form ‘F’ records, which are legally mandated to track details for pregnant women undergoing sonography, lacked the necessary signatures of the operating doctor.
While the defense argued that the omission was a minor procedural error and pointed to the petitioner’s advanced age, the High Court held that strict compliance with the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act is essential. Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri noted that, given the statutory aim to combat female foeticide, lax record-keeping constitutes a significant violation, reinforcing a strict accountability standard for medical professionals.
